Saturday, June 1, 2013

Renshaw Convinced He'll be Ready for Tour de France

By: Alex Malone

No sprint support as Blanco chase GC, Tour de Suisse to test form

Mark Renshaw
has been pleasantly surprised by his ability to bounce back from the
high-speed crash that took him out of the Tour of Turkey on stage 2 and
he believes that he will be ready for the Tour de France.

The Blanco
sprinter spent just two weeks off the bike following surgery on the
broken collarbone he sustained in Turkey, while a few of the associated
injuries took a little bit longer to get right. Renshaw returns to
racing at the Ronde van Zeeland Seaports this Sunday to get some
last-minute leg speed before heading to the Tour de Suisse, where his
performance will ultimately determine his Tour inclusion.

"The plan has always been for the Tour but now it just means that at
Tour de Suisse I have prove I'm back on the level. If I can prove I'm
right to race then there should be no worries," Renshaw told Cyclingnews.

"I had two weeks completely off the bike, one week on the home
trainer. I've been back on the road for almost two weeks. I'm going
pretty well actually and quite happy with how the recovery has gone. I
thought it was going to be a lot harder to come back but it's [the form]
has come back quite quick."

Blanco has a formidable line-up for the 200km Zeeland race, with Theo
Bos leading the line. Renshaw admits that while his condition is on the
up, he probably won't have the legs to contribute to Bos' sprint train,
which features fellow Australian Graeme Brown. At Suisse however,
there's a number of stages earmarked for sprints but with a difficult
parcours and a field full of riders testing themselves ahead of the
Grand Depart, bunch sprints are never certain.

"The only chance to race before Suisse is at Zeeland. I can't see
myself playing a big role in the race, it's more to get a day of racing
under the belt. It seems like there will be a few sprint stages but in
saying that it's Tour de Suisse and it's always a hard race," he said.

Renshaw's transition from lead-out man to sprinter and back to
sometime-lead-out man has led to mixed feelings for the Australian, who
is best-known for his performances alongside Mark Cavendish during his
Highroad days. At Blanco, Renshaw has come to understand that if Bos is
there, it's almost certain the Dutchman will be given the lead.

"It works quite well for the team when we race together but if we
ride together we always ride for him, so I try to do a different program
a lot," he explained.

Assuming Suisse goes to plan Renshaw should be in Corsica on June 29
but as has been the case a number of times this season, Renshaw won't
have support for the sprint stages. With a team that has ambitions for
the general classification, he will have to be there to take
opportunities when they arise, after his team duties have been
performed.

"If I go to the Tour it will be to support Bauke Mollema and Robert
Gesink, who are the leaders of the team. They are focused on GC so if I
go it will be to help those guys. I can obviously try to take my chance
in sprint stages but they [Blanco] won't have support for me," said
Renshaw.

The Australia National Team

Critical of his omission from Cycling Australia's selection for the
2011 world championships and 2012 Olympic Games, Renshaw was satisfied
with the appointment of Brad McGee and Brian Stephens, who will share
the National Team DS position. Renshaw had voiced his backing of the
former professional McGee into the role held by Matt White - until he
stepped down - and believes sharing the work load with Stephens should
work well.

"I think he's going to be great in that role. I've known Brad a long
time, he's a smart guy and he'll do a great job. He's in Australia now
but they will have Brian Stephens to look over the European racing so
between the two of them they will do a good job."